The Series

The Operation: Surgery Live features Britain’s top surgeons performing major surgery live on Channel 4.

The operations are broadcast live to a studio audience at the Wellcome Collection auditorium in London, as well as to TV viewers at home, from some of the country’s leading NHS hospitals: Papworth, Southampton General, Addenbrooke’s and King’s College Hospital. Krishnan Guru-Murthy hosts the programmes.

Viewers can interact live with the operating theatre—via Twitter as well as phone and email—asking the surgeon questions as the operation unfolds. This groundbreaking series offers viewers a unique insight into human anatomy, and a chance to see the very latest surgical techniques in action.

With the operations playing out in real time, viewers witness the minute-by-minute drama of the operating room and gain an unprecedented understanding of what it takes to be a top surgeon, from their extraordinary skill and dexterity, to their ability to make tough decisions under pressure.

Surgery Live is not just must-see television, it's also a big hit on the interactive level. By the time the fourth episode aired the programme's feed on Twitter became the biggest in the world.